Magical Thinking by Matthew Hutson – Why a little magic is good for you, Psychology Today Magazine, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/magazine/archive/2008/03

“We look for patterns because we hate surprises and because we love being in control. Emotional stress and events of personal significance push us strongly toward magical meaning-making.”

Matthew Hutson, science journalist and former news editor for Psychology Today Magazine, continues in his delightful and informative article (referenced above), “Often we don’t even register our wacky beliefs. Seeing causality in coincidence can happen even before we have a chance to think about it; the misfiring is sometimes perceptual rather than rational.”

Hutson identifies 7 key principles of magical thinking:

1. Anything can be sacred
2. Anything can be cursed
3. Mind rules over matter
4. Rituals bring good luck
5. To name is to rule
6. Karma’s a bitch
7. The world is alive

Finally, Hutson’s article offers a couple of provocative quotes:

“You can be a believer in astrology and still be a good astronomer.” Eugene V. Subbotsky

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

Inanimate objects will become more responsive, interactive, and intentional, TechGnosis author Erik Davis says, “so it will make sense to have a degree of magical thinking just to be able to deal with these devices.”

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I’ve really enjoyed Matthew Hutson’s work; especially this article. For more information about Matthew and his work check out these links:

https://www.science.org/content/author/matthew-hutson

Matthew Hutson New Yorker, Bio, Wiki, Age, Height, Wife, Salary, and Net Worth

https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/matthew-hutson

Matthew Huston @ science.org